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The National Association for Sport and Physical Education Joins With The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility to Promote NATIONAL PHYSICAL FITNESS AND SPORT MONTH (May 2011)

Apr

09

2011

RESTON, May 9, 2011– The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is teaming up with The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility to help promote the month of May as National Physical Fitness and Sport Month, an annual national initiative for the past 28 years, aimed at increasing awareness of the benefits of healthy living, physical education, and sports activities. NASPE kicked off the month with its annual National Physical Education and Sport Week, May 1-7, by incorporating the Let’s Move in School initiative as this year’s theme.

NASPE along with its umbrella organization, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, (AAHPERD) created Let’s Move in School as a national public initiative to increase physical activity before, during, and after school and to provide schools with a cohesive message along with tools and resources to implement a comprehensive physical activity program. Let’s Move in School is in response and in support of the First Lady’s Let’s Move Campaign, dedicated to solving childhood obesity within a generation.

As part of Let’s Move in School, more than 4500 schools and more than 3 million students participated in a Let’s Move in School event during National Physical Education and Sport Week. Students across the country participated in a variety of school-based physical activities. In addition, AAHPERD/NASPE member Coach Cate Dill of Sudbury, MA, who is walking and biking 5,300 miles coast to coast to motivate all Americans to live healthy, physically active lives, was in Maryland during National Physical Education and Sport Week meeting with school children as part of her “Let’s Get Moving America” journey.

The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility is proud to be celebrating its 20th anniversary and continues to work to promote healthy lifestyles through its interactive Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix program. This program gets kids up and moving while encouraging them to “say ‘YES’ to a healthy lifestyle and ‘NO’ to underage drinking.” The Ask, Listen, Learn interactive game allows the player to exercise while answering questions about how alcohol affects the body, the basics of good nutrition and the impact of making healthy lifestyle decisions. The initiative recognizes that the key to stopping underage drinking is communication early and often between parents and children. Ask, Listen, Learn provides both kids and parents with underage drinking statistics and strategies to help jumpstart the conversation about the dangers of underage drinking, in a format and language designed specifically for them. The program is being launched this month in North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wisconsin. To learn more, visit www.asklistenlearn.com.

“Although it has been established by research that a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity a day is essential for student health and academic performance, we are challenged with how to offer adequate physical education and physical activity in the face of other education demands,” said Brad Strand, AAHPERD President.

“We are thrilled to partner with NASPE to increase the health and wellness of our nation’s children by increasing physical activity at home and in school. Research shows that for your brain to function at its peak, your body needs to move and that aerobic exercise prepares your brain to learn, improves mood and attention, lowers stress and anxiety, helps stave off addiction, and controls the effects of hormonal changes,” said Susan Molinari, Chairman of The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility.

Let’s Move in School brings together leading national and state associations, federal and corporate partners to help schools coordinate physical activity before, during and after school. The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition serves as a federal partner along with more than 40 national nonprofits and six district and 50-state AAHPERD associations as supporters. To find out more about the initiative and access promotional videos and tools, visit www.LetsmoveInSchool.org.

About National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) The preeminent national authority on physical education and a recognized leader in sport and physical activity, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is a nonprofit professional membership association that sets the standard for practice in physical education and sport. NASPE’s 15,000 members include: K-12 physical education teachers, coaches, administrators, researchers, and college/university faculty who prepare professionals in these areas. NASPE seeks to enhance knowledge, improve professional practice, and increase support for high-quality physical education, sport and physical activity programs. It is the largest of the five national associations that make up the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). For more information, visit www.naspeinfo.org.

About The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking and is funded by the following distillers: Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands, Inc.; DIAGEO; Hood River Distillers, Inc.; Pernod Ricard USA; and Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia and chaired by Susan Molinari, The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility is a leader in the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and promotes responsible decision making regarding beverage alcohol. The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility develops and implements innovative programs and public awareness campaigns and promotes action through strategic partnerships. Established in 1991, The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility’s initiatives are highlighted on its website at www.responsibility.org.